Vanguard Gallery is pleased to present Chen Xingye’s solo exhibition, “Digging…”, opening on September 12, 2024. This marks the artist’s second solo presentation at the gallery. The exhibition showcases Chen’s newly created oil paintings, which continue his exploration of the sensory and aesthetic dimensions of power, previously developed through works on paper. This significant shift to a new medium introduces a more subtle and serene visual tone to his works.
《掘金》Digging
布面油画 Oil on canvas
300 x 200 cm | 2024
Chen Xingye’s practice often incorporates symbols from popular culture. Drawing on his personal memories, Chen traces cultural and sensory experiences to generate new possibilities at the intersection of the imagined and the real. The result is a series of ambiguous figures, suspended outside of space and time, navigating the elusive boundary between the inner world and tangible materiality.
《金山》Player Brain
布面油画 Oil on canvas
200 x 150 cm | 2024
In the new works presented in “Digging…”, the artist imagines the world as a system, with reality functioning like a game. The bunnies represent the players who navigate this game of reality. These characters are fierce and rebellious, yet also calm and sophisticated, capable of solving any challenges—or levels—they encounter, as if the game is under their control. Whether following the game’s rules, taking cues from the bunnies, or hitting pause for a break, the artist suggests a different approach among the countless ways to play: breaking free from the constraints of the given framework and navigating the system’s reward mechanisms by “digging for gold”.
标志A SIGN A（左）｜标志B SIGN B（右）
布面油画 Oil on canvas
24 x 18 cm｜2024
《闪灵》The Shining
布面油画 Oil on canvas
50 x 40 cm | 2023
INSTALLATION VIEW
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Chen Xingye
Chen Xingye was born in Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province, China in 1987. Graduated from Animation department of Tianjin University in 2010, Chen Xingye currently works andlives in Beijing.
Recent solo exhibitions: “Digging…”, Vanguard Gallery, Shanghai, China (2024); “High Fidelity”, Vanguard Gallery, Shanghai, China (2020).
Selected group exhibitions: “An Unlikely Menagerie And The Resulting Chaos”, Vanguard Gallery, Shanghai (2024), China; “Painting Tiny Times, 33ml offspace, Shanghai, China (2023); “A Bee’s Wing Dropping Onto Your Cheek”, Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2023); “Pieces”, Vanguard Gallery, Shanghai, China (2017).
